


Uncle Unseelie King

by SilverRosesAndDragons



Category: The Dark Artifices Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare, The Wicked Powers Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Faerie Magic, Gen, References to Sex, Uncle-Nephew Relationship, post-tda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:55:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29260848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverRosesAndDragons/pseuds/SilverRosesAndDragons
Summary: Kit visits his Uncle Kieran for the weekend. That's pretty much it.
Relationships: Kit Rook & Kieran
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	Uncle Unseelie King

By the time Kit arrives at the cabin on the back of Stardust, his Faerie steed, the multicoloured stars have been shining brightly overhead for more than an hour. When they land, he hops off and strokes his horse’s mane. Then he takes the saddlebag off and says, “Thanks, Star. I’ll see you soon, girl.” With those parting words, she flies off, leaving him to walk the path to his Uncle’s cabin alone. As he nears the door, he can see the flickering light of a fire through the curtains, indicating that someone is home. He was expecting that; the acorn message he received said that Kieran would be there a day earlier than him. He knocks thrice on the door, calling out, “It’s Kit,” before letting himself in.

The cabin is warm and bright inside, and quite homey. There are many calendars hanging on the wall, most of them old, with pictures of animals on them. The walls are wood, but someone, probably Cristina, brought mortal-world paint at some point, covering them in pale blues, greens, and purples. The kids’ toys are scattered across the floor, where no one’s bothered to pick them up, and instead just kicked them out of the way to make paths along the floor. There are papers spread on the dining room table, and dirty dishes in the sink, but no sign of anyone in the great room.

Kit sighs and heads down the hallway towards the office. It’s not like Kieran doesn’t know how to clean up, or is too lazy to do so. He’s just so busy with his kingly duties that he forgets sometimes. Kit wonders how long the toys have been there, seeing as the twins, all of eight months old, are currently with Mark and Cristina in New York. At least there aren’t also weapons lying around.

When Kit opens the door to the office, he finds that his hunch was correct. “Uncle,” he says, and Kieran looks up from where he is hunched over a scroll on the desk.

“Oh, Kit,” he says, obviously startled by his nephew's sudden appearance. He stands to embrace Kit. “I didn’t hear you come in. I was just trying to finish up some work before you got here.”

_ Yeah, that much was obvious, _ Kit thinks, but simply smiles and hugs Kieran back. “I think the rest can wait until tomorrow. I’ll make some dinner, and we can catch up,” Kit says when they separate, and they both head out to the kitchen. 

Once Kieran is out of “paperwork mode,” he is quite enjoyable to be around. It is easy to forget, when Kieran’s acting like a king, just how young he is. He has not yet lived the duration of one human lifetime. He starts to pick up the living room while Kit cooks a quick meal. “I only arrived this morning,” he explains, apologizing for the mess, “and I had much work to do. I did not find time to tidy up.” Kit certainly understands why Mark and Cristina are always worried he’s going to work himself into the ground. 

Like the proud father that he is, Kieran fills Kit in on how the twins are doing. They sure are a tornado of movement and noise, with more energy than any children under a year old should be able to hold in their tiny bodies. “We should get them together with Mina for a playdate. I’d be happy to babysit if you three ever need some alone time,” Kit suggests. He is quite good at babysitting by now, due to how much time he spends watching Mina, as well as Max and Rafe Lightwood-Bane. Because sending kids to a babysitter on another continent is no big deal when powerful warlocks like Magnus and Tessa are around. Kieran agrees that that would be nice, and Kit looks forward to spending more time with his cousins, even if he knows it will be exhausting. 

“I wanted to check in with you about your training,” Kieran says after they’ve finished eating. “I’m sure your Shadowhunter training is progressing well, but I was wondering what progress you may have made with your Faerie magic?”

That is not a question Kit particularly wants to answer. His magic is very powerful, but that’s a big part of the problem: he can’t make it do anything small. After a moment, he answers, “Well, I can make things blow up, or go on fire. Or sometimes disappear, but I’m not sure if they disintegrate or just transfer to somewhere else.” As useful as all of that could be to protect himself, he mostly did it by accident when he was trying to do something else with his magic.

Kieran nods, understanding more than just what Kit said. “It will take time for you to gain control. That you can call it up on demand at all, when your life is not in danger, is already great progress. Do not allow the challenge to frustrate you overmuch.” He pauses for a moment, looking thoughtful, before he continues slowly, “I was wondering . . . Perhaps you would be better able to control your magic here, in Faerie, than in the human world. Our royals are connected to the land, and as you are a descendant of the First Heir, technically a Faerie prince . . .” He trails off, leaving the thought unfinished.

Kit thinks for a moment, then decides, “It’s worth a shot.” After Kit explains the metaphor to his Uncle, they decide that they should wait until morning to test the theory, as they have both had a long day, and it is getting late.

In the morning, after breakfast, they step into the large meadow outside the cabin, ringed in trees. Kit opted for wearing Faerie clothes, instead of the jeans and teeshirt he arrived in, so he won’t attract as much attention. As they step off the porch, an armoured Faerie appears at the tree line, startling Kit. He knows, logically, that his Uncle would need to have a guard at all times, being the Unseelie King, but the soldiers never acknowledge his presence, knowing that he has permission to approach the king away from the Court, no questions asked. It’s easy for him to forget that they’re always there, watching. “Are you starting off, my lord?” the soldier asks, with a bow to Kieran.

“Enjoying the sun here. Have your men assure we are not being watched,” Kieran orders, and the soldier hurries off with a bow. They have to be careful of using Kit’s powers, especially in Faerie: no one can know that he’s the First Heir’s descendant. If the secret got out, he would be in serious danger. So they wait for the soldier to return and report that the woods are clear. They don’t have to worry about the soldiers, because they are under a binding oath not to repeat anything they see or hear while guarding their King.

Kieran begins by having Kit sit cross-legged in the grass with his eyes closed, trying to lull him into a meditative, hyper-aware state. He talks to his nephew in a calm, even voice as he sits on the grass in front of the boy. He slowly talks Kit through opening up his senses, and eventually through connecting himself to the land.

“I ー I think I got it!” Kit exclaims excitedly, hours later. It’s midafternoon, and he’s been working up to connecting with the land on and off all day. He finally feels something. First, a tug in his chest, and when he gives in to it, he can feel his consciousness expanding. His Uncle asks him what he senses, and he describes it. “It’s like I’m aware of every tree, every rabbit and blade of grass, every insect crawling through the soil.”

“Very good,” Kieran praises. “Can you sense where I am?” He nods, and Kieran continues, “What about the soldier that checked on us this morning. Where is he?”

Kit thinks for a moment, searching through the information the land is providing him. Without opening his eyes, he says, “To the west, just beyond the treeline. Watching us from the shade of a willow tree.”

Kieran tells him to open his eyes, then says loudly, “Femyyr, step forward.” When the guard steps into the clearing from the west, right where Kit said he was, Kieran smiles at him. “Perfect. You progressed very quickly Kit. I believe that is a good stopping place for now.”

That evening, the smell of something sweet cooking draws Kit out of the nursery-slash-guest-room, where he was packing his bags to return home to Cirenworth in the morning. He finds Kieran in the kitchen, the wood-powered oven radiating heat. “What’s cooking, Uncle?” he asks curiously.

“Spiced honeycakes, from Cristina’s recipe,” Kieran replies. When he sees Kit’s surprised smile, he asks jokingly, “What, you didn’t think I’d send you away without spoiling you at least a little, did you? And speaking of spoiling my favourite nephew, I think you are old enough to learn how to turn Stardust into a motorcycle.”

“Awesome!” As excited as he is about the cakes, Kit has been looking forward to learning how to change Star’s form since Kieran gave her to him for his sixteenth birthday.

Over their dinner of honeycakes and pudding, Kieran asks Kit some more personal questions about his life that he didn’t get around to before. When he asks if Kit’s been in any relationships recently, the younger boy looks down at his plate and mumbles, “Nothing long-term.” 

Kieran raises an eyebrow and asks, “So you are, as humans would say, ‘sleeping around?’”

“Uncle!” Kit exclaims, startled. “I’m ー That’s not ー I mean, I guess that’s kinda accurate. But that’s not what I meant. I mostly just, like, make out with people for a while. People I may or may not know. Just ー please don’t mention this conversation to my parents,” he finishes awkwardly, dropping his head onto the table.

“Humans are so easily flustered by talk of sex,” Kieran comments curiously. “I will not mention it to your family, though I do not understand why that should bother you. You are nearly an adult, and sexual activity is natural at your age. As long as you are being safe. You wouldn’t want to get that human world disease ー syphilis, is it?”

Kit groans, face still resting against the table. How did he get here? Why did he have to have this conversation? He isn’t embarrassed by his ー experimentation, or whatever you call it. But he definitely doesn’t want to talk about it. It’s awkward. Especially because no matter how many people he experiments with, there is only one person he really wants to kiss. One person he can’t get over. And he refuses to mention that boy to anyone, including himself. 

Kieran, realizing that Kit was very uncomfortable with the topic of conversation, starts clearing up the dishes and suggests that the boy turn in for the night.

In the morning, Kit steps outside and calls to Star. When she lands in front of him, he strokes her mane as she nuzzles his hair. “Good to see you too, girl.” As he’s reattaching the saddlebag to carry his things, Kieran steps out of the cabin and walks over to him.

“It was nice to see you, Kit,” he says. “I apologize if I embarrassed you last night. I occasionally forget to account for cultural differences.”

“That’s alright. Thank you for having me, Uncle,” Kit responds sincerely, giving his Uncle a goodbye hug.

When Kieran steps back, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a folded piece of parchment. “I believe I promised you the incantation for the motorcycle transformation. Use it responsibly: I don’t need your mother upset with me.”

“Yes, of course. Thank you so much!” Kit responds. And with that, they say their final goodbyes, and Kit flies away on the back of his Faerie steed.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. I'd really appreciate it if you let me know what you think.


End file.
